The Comex is the name for the largest gold futures market in the world, traditionally centered in New York City. Although the market recently became part of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, it has retained its old nickname. Also, the depositories which hold the actual bars of gold used to settle the futures contracts remain in New York City.

A gold depository must be the most boring business on earth. They charge a small monthly fee to store 100oz. standardized bars of gold in an insured vault. It is an industrial-sized version of a safe deposit box. …. more

Signaling that California is slipping deeper into financial crisis, the state’s controller said Wednesday that his office would soon be forced to issue i.o.u.’s to scores of the state’screditors, as lawmakers failed at their first attempt as a body to close the state’s multibillion-dollar shortfall.

If the i.o.u.’s are issued as threatened, it would be the first time since 1992 — when Gov. Pete Wilson paid roughly 100,000 state employees with them — that the warrants were used to hold over those to whom the state owed money. Before that budget crisis, California last issued the warrants during the …. more

One week and counting. An unprecedented number of states have only days left to pass their fiscal 2010 budgets.

At least 19 states are still hammering out their spending plans as the recession wreaks havoc with their finances and sparks fights between governors and lawmakers. If spending plans aren’t approved, state workers may not receive their paychecks and some government offices may shut down….. more

Ron Paul a modern day “Founding Father” has gained enough support for his bill H.R. 1207, that it’s moving to the house for debate. This is a great sign. It’s a step in the right direction.

“The tremendous grass-roots and bipartisan support in Congress for HR 1207 is an indicator of how mainstream America is fed up with Fed secrecy,” said Congressman Paul

Congressman Kucinich, along with Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), announced Tuesday that the House Financial Services Committee will subpoena the Federal Reserve to ascertain the details of the Fed’s agreements with Bank of America in the institution’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch

“To understand how unwise it is to have the Federal Reserve, one must first understand the magnitude of the privileges they have. They have been given the power to create money, by the trillions, and to give it to their friends, under any terms they wish, with little or no meaningful oversight or accountability. Thus the loudest arguments against greater transparency are likely to come from those friends, and understandably so.”

How worried is the FED about all this? worried enough to hire a lobbyist to help it’s image with congress. The same lobbyist that worked for Enron and the Clinton Administration. Theres some good company for you.

They desperately don’t want any attention of their actions, and Ron Paul is making it very hard for them to fly under the radar.